The Story of my Life

I'm such a volleyball junkie and probably because I can't play the game so well all I can do is admire them. Since the UAAP Volleyball season started, I've been following all the games on TV, and on the internet. I also used to watch them live but I've been advised not to because of my present condition. It's so different when you're watching the game live...much more exciting and heart-stopping!

Of course, my heart goes for the DLSU Lady Spikers. Last year, they finished the eliminations with zero losses. Everyone was expecting they'd grab the championship, but a stroke of bad luck came to them that caused them to bow down to UST at the finals.

This year, the girls finished the eliminations as they did in the previous year. Probably even better...finishing most of their games in 3 sets. They are more determined now to finish first. They were up against the UST Tigresses in the finals, again!

DLSU's last two games were stretched to 5 sets. Something that was unfamiliar to the Lady Spikers. I watched both games and boy was I nervous. I had a bad feeling they'd crumble come the finals. Good thing that they regained confidence and won these two games.

Game 1 of the finals was another heart-stopping game. I was in the office that day, but I was tuned in via live streaming. DLSU won the first two sets, but UST came in strong in the 3rd and 4th set. My palms and feet were sweating. They have to win the 5th set or the UST Tigresses will have the momentum in Game 2, which we don't want to happen. Fortunately, luck was on our side as the Tigresses suffered from the loss of their A-player, who had to quit due to a bad case of leg cramps. DLSU won, 15-10. What a day!

Game 2 was a different story all together. I knew the UST Tigresses would come with a vengence. But the Lady Spikers were pumped up with all the awards they received that day, and seemed like nothing was going to stop them. They finished strong in the 1st and 2nd set. It seemed like UST was going to take the 3rd set with a score of 24-19. DLSU was behind by 5 points, and with that score, DLSU should be flawless. Indeed, the girls played with so much poise and fervor to grab the championship. Way to go girls!

Here are some action pics courtesy of Greenarchers.ph

They call it, the Great La Sallian Wall. La Salle ranked no. 1 in the blocking department.

Michelle Gumabao, Season 73's Best Blocker.

Mika Esperanza, Rookie of the Year.

Jacq Alarca, Season 73's Most Valuable Player.

The jubilant DLSU Lady Spikers after winning game 1.

(My favorite player in jersey no. 11, Cha Cruz).

I'm 28 weeks now. In 10 weeks, I could already give birth to Kara Sabrina. And these days, I've already started planning what to buy and things to do for our little one. I already told you about the things I want to buy in my previous posts, but for the things to do, i'll let you in on a little secret.

One of the major reasons I'm stacking up on photography gadgets and reviving my photography skills is that when the baby is out I want to take loads and loads of pictures of her. I want to take pictures of her tiny fingers, wrinkled face and pinkish feet. She will only be in this stage once and I want to make sure that everything is well documented.

Then a colleague told me that there's a local photographer who does maternity and new born shoots ala Anne Geddes. When I looked it up in the internet, I was facinated. And it made me more excited to see my baby.

We haven't really decided if we're availing their services because they're a little pricey for us. So for now, I'm just getting inspiration from these photos hoping that when I shoot baby KS it'll be as pretty as these.

Photo credits: The Stork Studio

Between these two...

and

I'm not a concert-goer so it goes without saying that I missed Taylor Swift's concert last weekend. It's all over the radio though, how sulit the concert was and how enchanting she was that night. It should be! Ticket prices range from 500-12,750!

Anyway, since last weekend was a Taylor Swift weekend, I just listened to her songs and it seems a lot of them were written with a broken heart. tsk..tsk.. no wonder a lot of teenagers can relate to her songs. This one paticular song is about unrequitted love. Love the melody of this one...and her pretty face. :)



Teardrops on my guitar

Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I'm needing everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without
Drew talks to me, I laugh 'cause It's just so damn funny
That I can't even see anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky cause
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down and maybe
Get some sleep tonight
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The Only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing don't know why I do
He's the time taken up but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into...
Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see.

Late last year, I nursed a friend through what probably is one of the darkest days of her life after the love of her life decided to call it quits. Last monday, we had dinner with a friend who had a falling out with her friend-slash-crushie. Then today, I learned about a friend's heartbreaking story.


I hate break-ups because it always leaves a person hurt and miserable. But then again, it has to happen or life would be boring. I just wish there were less hurtful ways of breaking up.


After hearing the friend's heartbreaking story, it tore my heart to pieces. I wanted to cry for her but why would I when she was calm and composed. I used to think she was fragile. I used to think she's the type that would fall apart in the middle of the storm. But today I saw a whole new picture of her. She's going through a difficult time but her face doesn't show it. Her voice doesn't manifest it. She's a picture of a woman in total control of her mind and heart, of her life.


She made God bigger than her pain. So life goes on for her. She doesn't hold a grudge in her heart only love. She lives one day at a time and goes to where God wants her to be. She trusts Him fully. And I admire her for that.


I know that it won't be long until she finds God's greatest gift for her and when that happens, I will celebrate with her, for she deserves it. And so does my other girl friends who lost the love of their lives.

Husbo and I are not big at spending Valentine's day but we still make it a point to celebrate it in our own little way. Yesterday, after mass, we headed to Vivere Suites, Alabang, to have some sort of pre-valentine's date. It is, by far, the most we've done for Valentine's.


The view from the Sky Lounge is breathtaking, and that's only at lunch time. Just imagine how spectacular the view from there would be at night time...with all the city lights. Nice, romantic and chilly! hehehe I have to warn you, though, that the food is not as great as the view. There's nothing extraordinary about it, but I can't complain cause the prices are on the average.


Next time we're in Alabang, I'd suggest Bellevue to the husbo. A friend told me their food is tastier than Vivere.


For now, I'll leave you with the Grape slush I had with my meal. Hope it gives you that cool feeling in this hot v-day afternoon.

I remember I wrote about reading to the baby before bedtime. I still do. I make it a point to read to her before we sleep but when I'm really tired, I just talk to her until I head to snoozeland...which doesn't really take long. hehehe

As early as now, I'm already asking friends what baby gadgets I should buy, where I can buy it, and how much they would cost. I've done some math and I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount we will be spending. Good thing there's an option to buy it from the US, where I can get them for half of the local price. I haven't really visited malls yet, all my researches are based on online prices and friends' feedback.


Here are the items on the list, so far:

Maclaren Techno XT Stroller

Medela Freestyle Breastpump

Graco Crib

I'm thankful that our company insurance will take care of the hospital bill when I give birth, at least I can focus on saving up for these and other baby stuff. Now I just hope relatives in the US will be kind enough to ship these to us. Please help me, dear Lord.

I've imposed diet on myself since my last check up with the OB. I gained freaking 7lbs over the holidays, would you believe?!?!?!?! So now, I'm sticking to a more healthy diet. Some sweets on the side when I can't help it. hehehe. But when I can, I choose healthy food.

This morning, I was in a good mood to be healty so I had these for breakfast. Muesli with fresh fruits, non-fat milk and wheat bread with jam. I'm thankful that the office cafeteria offers a wide variety of food so there's no excuse to binge on the "evil" food.

A lot of my mommy friends told me not to start shopping until all the baby showers have been held so as to save us money and time. Though I'm not expecting that friends would go out of their way to plan that for me, some of them have already given me a heads up as to when they plan to hold my baby shower.


True enough, Baby Shower no. 1 was set as early as last month. And the save the date is out!

This one is from the HBs-slash-Badminton friends. Thanks guys! Looking forward! :)

...trying hard, that is. hehehe

As earlier planned, I attended the Thai Cooking Class last week at Valle Verde. It was a very informal cooking class. Not like the ones where you'll cook the dish on your own. But for the price of P1,100, I'd say it was worth it.

The class was participated by househelp and housewives. Connie Reyes was even there! My friend, Roselle, tagged along so at least I had a companion the whole day.

We cooked the following Sticky Rice with Mango, Tom Yam, Steamed Fish with Lime Juice, Pad Thai and Bagoong Rice with Sweet Pork. Out of the dishes I cooked, I was only able to take a photo of this:

And that's because I ran out of battery...again. Please remind me to buy an extra battery next time!

One of the things the Chef stressed during the class was that to get authentic Thai taste, one must use authentic Thai ingredients. She said some of those ingredients are locally available, others are not so she gets it straight from Thailand. Good thing they were selling those ingredients.

I got what I could buy from her, and bought the rest from the Supermarket.

L-R: Kaffir Lime Leaves, Thai Patis, Shrimp Paste, Galangal (Thai Ginger) and Tamarind Paste. Not in picture are Green Curry Paste and Chili Paste.

And then, last Sunday, I cooked Pad Thai so the husbo can taste it. Here's the output:

Not very happy with the result because I put in too much oil and the tofu was a bit overdone. Perhaps in my next try, I can perfect it.